Rail or bar bender



(No Mdel.) i 2 sheets-Sheet 1.

M. H. BROWN.

RAIL OR BAR BBNDBR. N0. 383,168. Patented May 22, 1888.

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lJNiTnn STATES MORRIS H. BROVN, OF

YONKERS, NEV YORK.

RAIL OR BR BENDER.

SPECIFICATION fer-ming part of Letters Patent No. 383,168, dated May 22, 1888.

Application tiled March 5, 188B.

To @ZZ whom, t may concern.-

Beit known that 1, Monnis H. BROWN, of Yonkers, Vestchesier county, New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Rail and Bar Benders, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification.

This invention relates to the construction of apparatus or implements for bending, curving, or straightening bars of metal, particularly rails, and has for its object to improve such apparatus in point of simplicity, strength, and efliciency.

The general elements of a railbender are a strong frame, usually triangular, terminating in hooks or jaws, against which the rail or bar rests, a ram or plunger by which pressure is applied to the rail at a point midway between the hooks or jaws, and means for applying power to the ram to bend the rail or bar. The power is usually applied either by a screw or by a cam or eccentric worked by a lever. YVhen the latter construction is used, it is necessary, in order to obtain the requisite amplitude of movement for the ram, to make the latter adjustablelength wise. This has been done heretofore by making the ram or plunger in two parts having right and left handed screws on their adjacent ends and coupled by a threaded sleeve, whereby the two parts ofthe ram can be moved closer together or farther apart to shorten or lengthen it, according to the length ofradius of the curve to be given to the rail or bar. This arrangement not only involvesa didicult and costly construction, but impairs the strength ofthe ram. In the present invention the ram is cored into a strong block of castiron, in which it has along bearing, and is adjusted by means of a nut. When pressure is applied to bend a rail, there is a tendency on the part of the jaws to spread apart or separate. This is obviated by connecting thejaws together at their extreme ends beyond the points where the rail rests by a bar or tic rod, which both adds to the strength of the implement and also serves as a handle for carrying it from place to place.

Other improvements in details of construe tion have been made, as hereinafter described.

In the accompanying drawings, which form part of this specilication, Figure I is a plan View of the under side of a railbender constructed in accordance with the invention, and

Serial No. 266,161. (No model.)

Fig. Il a longitudinal section thereof on the line ll 1l.

rlhe side frames, A, which maybe of wroughtiron, are bent at their lower ends to form the hooks or jaws B. For a short distance from this end the frames A are parallel, and then they incline toward each other, as shown, until the pointp is reached, where there is another bcnd, the frames being parallel from this point to their upper ends. The tie rod or bar C, of wroughtiron, is secured at its ends to the frames A by nuts c beyond the hooks or jawst'. e., on the other side ofthe rail from that on which the pressure is applied-and counteracts the tendency of the jaws to spread apart under heavy pressure. rlhe ends of the hooks or jaws B are provided with removable bearingblocks c, which are held in place by the tierod C and nuts c and by the additional bolts c and nuts c. the blocks a can be taken out and other blocks of different pattern substituted therefor. Side frames, A, are also connected by the crossbar D, securely bolted at its. iianged ends'to the side frames by bolts d and nuts d', and the bolt E and nuts e connect the frames at the bendp, thus partly relieving the eccentric-shaft F of strain.

The ram or plunger consists of two parts, G and G. The former is the ram proper, being a solid bar of'steel or wrought-iron, having a head, g, adapted to press upen the rail mid way between the bearing blocks c. At its lower part the plunger G is square in crosssection, and it passes through a square opening in cross-bar D. From the point g' to the upper end it is turned to a circular cross-section and enters a hole formed lengthwise in the part G', herein called the blocln The latter may be of cast-iron. The ram G is screw-threaded on its surface inside the block T', and it can be moved longitudinally in either direction bythe nut H, working in an opening cut transversely through said block and provided with holes 7i forinsertion of a pin or handle for turning. By this means the head g of the ram can be set at any desired initial distance from the side of the rail.

The ram G does not ordinarily bear against the rail N direct; but, as shown in Fig. II, a block, c, shaped to correspond with the rail, is interposed.

By removing the nuts c and a The shaft F has bearings in the end of the frame A, and its projecting ends f constitute handles by which and the tie-rod C the tool can be carried. Shaft F has a long eccentric, K, extending across the space between the side frames, A, as indicated by dotted lines, Fig. I. The block G is bifurcated at its upper end, as shown in Fig. I, the operating-lever L working between the two branches. rlhe eccentric K bears against the two branches of the block Gr at the bottom of the Ushaped grooves therein, as shown in Fig. II. The ends of the branches are attached together by bolts M and nuts m. Block G has a slot, g, for the passage of cross-bolt E, so that the latter does not interfere with its longitudinal movement.

The operating-lever L is a bentor bell-crank lever, preferably made of cast-steel, the main stem being hollow for insertion of a suitable handle. The other arm terminates in a strap, l, which encircles the eccentric K and is keyed thereto at 7c.

Y The operation is like that of other tools of the same class. The bearing blocks a are placed against the web of the rail N, Fig. Il, and the ram G is adjusted by means of nut H so that the block o is such a distance from the other side of the rail that the throw of the eccentric K will give the rail the required curvature. The lever L is then pressed down toward the ram, whereby the latter is moved against the rail N by the pressure of the eccentric K.

It is preferred to arrange the eccentric, as shown, so that the lever L is forced down in operating the tool, since the pressure can be more effectively applied by the operatives in a downward direction.

I claim as my invention- 1. In a rail-bender, the combination of the ram and means for operating the same, the diverging side frames carrying j aws, and the tierod connecting the ends of the side frames beyond the jaws, substantially as described.

2. The combination, with the side frames provided on their ends with jaws, of the ram having a threaded portion, the bored block in which the ram has a long bearing, and the adjusting-nut working in an opening in said block and engaging the threaded portion of said ram, substantially as described.

3. The combination of the angular side frames, the jaws at the ends thereof, the ram, the block carrying said ram, bifurcated at its upper end, the cross-bolt connecting the side frames and passi ng through a slot in said block, the eccentric-shaft having bearings in said frames, the eccentric bearing against the grooved end of said block, and the operatinglever working between the branches of said block and keyed to said eccentric, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I have signed this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MORRIS H. BROWN.

Witnesses:

PHILIP MAURO, C. J. HEDRICK. 

